


You're Kidding!

by Buttercup (Buttercup_1)



Series: OT3 Fam Fics [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Cass and Eugene are bros, Eugene takes a close second, F/F, F/M, Multi, OT3, Owl is the best wingman, Post-Finale, cassunzel, fam fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buttercup_1/pseuds/Buttercup
Summary: Owl comes to Cassandra with some shocking news that brings her back to Corona after a little over five years on the road, maybe for good this time.
Relationships: Cassandra & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider (Disney), Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: OT3 Fam Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659991
Comments: 60
Kudos: 242
Collections: raps





	1. Homeward Bound

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm making this as the first story of a series, I guess a pilot of sorts?? I'm not sure if I'm going to have it be two or three or (hopefully not) more chapters than that, but once I finish this story I plan on just doing a bunch of related but short scenes relating to what happens in this story!! Anyways, enjoy! :)

Cassandra let a small smile spread across her lips as the warm sun shined upon her face and the cool breeze ruffled her curls. Her smile quickly turned into a grimace as one of the aforementioned curls blew into her mouth. With brows furrowed in annoyance, she quickly tied her now  _ obnoxiously long _ (meaning just above her collarbone) hair into a ponytail with a stray gold ribbon. She huffed as two strands continued to fly around each side of her face, having been two short to stay tied up.

The sound of approaching hoots snapped her from her previous thoughts and she held her arm out for her oldest friend to land upon. Owl was sure to fly just over her head before landing, untangling the ribbon from her haphazardly done ponytail. Cassandra’s hair immediately blew in several different directions, blocking her sight.

“Hey!” Once she managed to pull her hair from her face, she shot an annoyed glance at the bird on her arm. He hooted at her and narrowed his eyes.

“Oh come on! I don’t care if it looked sloppy, I just want it out of my face.” She reached for the ribbon and Owl pulled it from her reach. She huffed and pouted at her companion, knowing he had a point behind all of this.

“Okay, fine. What’s the deal? How is Raps?... and Eugene! Corona, I mean, how’s Corona?” Her cheeks flushed and Cassandra internally cursed herself when Owl stared at her with those knowing yellow eyes. He hooted a few times and held the ribbon back out to her.

“I need to go back? Why? Is Rap- Corona! Is Corona in trouble? And what does that have to do with me doing my hair right?” Owl rolled his eyes and Cass narrowed her eyes at him as he hooted. 

“Can you stop with that? She’s married, Owl. There’s no reason for me to try and impress her anymo- wait!” It was too late and her efforts to take what she said back were all in vain as Owl hooted in amusement and even Fidella joined in on ridiculing her. “It’s not funny! If that’s the reason you think I need to go back, it’s not happening.” She snatched the ribbon and despite her former complaints, she made sure her ponytail was pulled up neatly, the two short strands framing her face. The bird waited for his friend to finish tying the ribbon before responding to her bitter statement. As he expected, her eyes widened in disbelief. 

“She’s  **_WHAT_ ** ?” 

  


Rapunzel sat on her balcony, a smile on her face, eyes closed, and a hand resting on her stomach. She opened her eyes as she felt another presence with her and she shot up in her chair when she recognized Owl. Her heart rate picked up as she hadn’t seen the bird or the woman he traveled with in exactly five years, two months, and fourteen days. Yes, she counted.

“Owl? Owl!” She stood up quickly and all but ran over to the bird, trying to figure out what his presence meant, “Where… Owl, where’s Cass?” His head swiveled toward the city gates and without so much as a hoot, he flew back in that direction. Rapunzel looked just past the city walls and her heart jumped in her throat when she could just see a brown dot in the distance, rapidly approaching the kingdom. A huge smile split her glowing face and her eyes filled with tears. The princess’ breath hitched and the only way she could let it out was in a loud, elated squeal.

Rapunzel, in her excitement, couldn’t keep herself at a walking pace and it wasn’t long before she broke into a sprint towards the city gates. She refused to stop for anything until she literally ran into Eugene, who took on a look of panic at the sight of the tears streaming down her face.

“Rapunzel! Are you oka-” She looked at him with the same blinding smile on her face and sobbed- or was she laughing? His brows furrowed in confusion after she kept running, only stopping for long enough to give him a rushed kiss on the cheek. Deeply concerned for his wife’s sanity, Eugene chased her as she continued her run through the city. As he tried to catch her, he found himself shocked at how difficult it was to keep up with the pregnant woman. He felt his lungs burn as they got closer to the city gates and he felt shock run through his body at the sight he was met with upon turning the corner. 

  


Cassandra hopped off of Fidella just before entering the city and Owl flew off of her shoulder to land on Fidella’s head. She gave him a weird look, but walked to the city gates, stopping in the entrance as the two guards, who she didn’t recognize, crossed their halberds to block her way.

“State your name and purpose.” She opened her mouth to speak, but it seemed someone beat her to it.

“Cassandra!” It felt  _ strange _ to hear her own name, even stranger to hear it so loud and with so much  _ emotion _ . Her eyes widened in surprise and she felt her ears lift the slightest bit. The guards seemed just as surprised since they retracted their weapons and turned towards the voice that echoed throughout the streets. Cassandra’s wide eyes softened upon the sight of her princess, short brown hair blowing behind her as she ran, and a tearful smile forced its way to her face. She found herself pushing past the guards to meet Rapunzel just past the gate, catching her in a tight embrace and spinning her around before placing her back on her feet. 

Rapunzel squeezed her tighter than Cassandra thought possible, and though she wanted to return the embrace with equal force, she knew she couldn’t, given the princess’ condition. Instead, the returned warrior opted to rest her chin on top of Rapunzel’s head with one arm gently wrapping around her back and the other holding her head against her shoulder. She felt Rapunzel lean in further to nuzzle into her neck and tilted her head down to kiss Rapunzel on top of her head, opting to bury her nose into the princess’ hair.

“Cass, I missed you so much…” Cassandra pulled her just the smallest bit closer as she whispered a reply into her hair.

“I missed you too, Raps. So, so much.” The two girls only pulled apart at the sound of someone clearing their throat nearby. Cass pulled away, but Rapunzel caught her hand to hold onto as she saw a stern look on Eugene’s face. 

“Welcome home, CassANdra, but I’m going to have to tell you not to hug my wife too tightly.” Like a child at a carnival would hold a balloon tightly to be sure it wouldn’t drift away forever, Rapunzel did the same to Cassandra’s hand and was quick to spring to her defense.

“Eugene she didn’t-” Cassandra quickly found her composure and twirled her princess gently so that she landed smoothly under her arm, close to her side. She took on a smug smirk and let go of her hand in favor of squeezing her shoulder.

“Don’t you worry,  _ Gene _ , I was careful. I would hate to hurt your kid.” Cassandra took pride in the way Eugene’s jaw dropped and savored the way he scrambled for something smart to say and failed miserably.

“How- How did you know?” She let Rapunzel move out from under her arm to face her once she asked the question. Once she was able to see her face to face again, she could see her wide eyes and dropped jaw, an expression identical to Eugene’s. Cassandra held her smirk and let her eyes dart between the two before settling on Rapunzel.

“Call it a sixth sense I’ve gained on the roa- Ow!” Her gaze snapped over to Owl and her hand shot up to her ear that was now bleeding, “Owl, what the fu-” He flew at her again, hooting with a glare as she caught him. She turned a sheepish smile back towards her friends who were now laughing a little. “Okay, Owl told me.” As the truth came out, Owl’s puffed up feathers settled and he perched calmly on her shoulder while Rapunzel’s and Eugene’s laughter grew in volume. Her cheeks heated a little as they laughed and she sent her feathered companion a venomous side-eye.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I’m bringing Fidella to the stables.” Rapunzel looked up with a fond smile as Cassandra pouted grumpily, realizing how much she missed and loved the way her bottom lip poked out childishly, contrasting her tough and mature exterior. Another wave of excitement ran through her as she fully processed that Cassandra was actually there with her and jumped on her back. Eugene’s eyes widened in panic and ran to catch his wife in case they fell, but sighed in relief as Cass easily caught and held her in place. He smiled as Cassandra’s attitude dissolved completely and the two girls started laughing as Cassandra adjusted Rapunzel so that she could hold on easier. For the first time since he found out Rapunzel was pregnant, Eugene let himself relax a little bit knowing that the only other person he would trust Rapunzel with wholeheartedly was finally back in Corona. 

  


Rapunzel clung tightly to Cassandra’s arm and babbled on about everything that was new in the tower while the woman on the receiving end of the information chose to focus on the beautiful smile on her lips instead of the words coming from them.

“How long do you plan on staying?” Cassandra was broken from her trance when she realized Rapunzel had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. When she realized she hadn’t heard a single thing the princess said her cheeks flushed the slightest bit. 

“I- uh- well I was thinking- umm…” She cringed and looked to the ground as she caught Owl’s eye from Eugene’s shoulder. He knew she had no idea what she was supposed to be answering. “Sorry, what was the question again?” Rapunzel looked at her in concern as her cheeks reddened and cupped her cheek to regain eye contact.

“I just asked how long you were staying… Are you feeling okay? You look like you have a bit of a fever.” She moved her hands to rest along her jawline and pressed their cheeks together. Cassandra’s face reddened at the close contact and her wide eyes caught the knowing eyes of both Owl and  _ Eugene _ . Her heart rate picked up and she pushed Rapunzel away as gently as possible. What was she thinking? Rapunzel couldn’t love her in the same way, she was married and pregnant with his kid.

“I’m fine, Raps, just exhausted. And… I actually came back after I heard you were having a kid. I remembered how busy you and your parents always were and I know from experience how much time a Captain has for their kid so I figured you could use a little extra help.” Her gaze drifted between the couple as she spoke, “I also wanted to be here to support you both before the kid is actually born and help in any way I can.” Her heart rate picked up as she was left in silence for a while. The silence was immensely uncomfortable and seemed to last an eternity. “If- only if you want though! I didn’t mean to imply-” She was quickly cut off when two bodies barrelled into her, trapping her in an embrace.

“No, thank you so much Cass! Having you around to help would make this so much easier on both of us.” Eugene nodded and tightened his part of the embrace around her.

“Really Cass, it means a lot to us that you would put your life on halt like this to help. And for the record, it really is nice to have you back.” While she would have complained about the closeness of it all in the past, Cassandra truly found herself enjoying the feeling of her two idiots being close to her again. It had truly been too long. 

“Of course, I’ll always be here for you two when you need me…”  _ Even if it means I have to watch her start a family with someone else.  _ Cassandra pushed the thought down and pulled away with a smile. “Well, I better get some sleep, it was a long trip back to Corona and it’s been years since I’ve slept in a bed.” The couple smiled and nodded.

“Get some sleep CassANdra.” She shook her head with an amused smile at the name. 

“I’ll see you two later.” She turned around to make her way to her room and Eugene furrowed his brow when his wife didn’t say anything. He nudged her gently with an elbow and motioned towards Cassandra’s retreating figure with an expectant look. Rapunzel took on a nervous look, but called out nonetheless. 

“Cass!” The woman turned around with a curious look on her face, but with drowsiness weighing her eyes down slightly.

“Yeah Raps?” Rapunzel’s hands fidgeted.

“Before you go to sleep, I actually wanted to tell you something… Can you come back here?” Cassandra let out a small yawn that she couldn’t stifle, but walked back upon the princess’ request. 

“Is something wrong?” Rapunzel stared at her best friend, frozen until Eugene nudged her again to encourage her.

“I- um…” Rapunzel reached out to hold her cheek, but instead ran her hand through the curls that were neatly held back from her face by a ribbon. “I really like your hair like this, Cass.” Cassandra laughed sleepily and pulled Rapunzel into a gentle hug. 

“Thanks, I’ll see you later Raps.” The princess returned the embrace and leaned up with the intention of kissing her cheek, but pulled away just before she could do it.

“Sleep well Cass.” The exhausted woman nodded and walked slowly back to her old room. Rapunzel cringed as Cassandra disappeared around the corner, feeling the unimpressed stares from her husband and Owl burning into her back.

“You know sunshine, I’m all for compliments, but telling her that you like what she did with her hair isn’t exactly the same as saying you’re in love with her.” Rapunzel frowned a little and Eugene was quick to soften his criticism. “But hey, it would probably be better for you to talk to her about that when she’s not falling asleep anyways.” Rapunzel’s smile returned and she laughed lightly.

“Yeah… I’ll tell her when she wakes up. I just hope the whole sharing and becoming a mom thing doesn’t freak her out too much.” Eugene kissed her temple lovingly.

“Cass loves you, nothing could scare her out of that. Now, I have training to attend to and you should get some rest as well. I’ll see you later, sunshine.” Rapunzel leaned up to kiss Eugene. 

“I’ll see you later, Eugene.” Rapunzel gazed in the direction that Cassandra had walked with a swell in her chest and a smile on her face.  _ When she wakes up…  _ Feeling her own exhaustion set in as her excitement dwindled, Rapunzel fought the urge to follow Cass to her room and cuddle up to her back, instead retreating to her quarters to get some rest for herself.  



	2. A Not So Lovely Miscommunication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel still can't just come out and say it, Eugene jumps the gun in the worst way, and Cass is not prepared for any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the update took so long! I've been on spring break and trying to figure out how to move out and switch to online classes. Hopefully once I get into the swing of remote learning I can update more often. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, hopefully it can help t entertain everyone who's stuck in quarantine :)

Being sure to wake up well before her meeting with dignitaries from Koto, Rapunzel made her way to Cassandra’s room. The princess struggled to keep herself from running down the stairs like a child on Christmas morning and instead channeled her excitement into a gleeful smile as she walked through the corridors, stopping in front of the door that was so familiar, yet seemed like a distant memory. 

After taking Cassandra’s pillow the day following her departure, Rapunzel hadn’t been able to bring herself back down to visit the room. It had been missing something- no,  _ someone  _ before, but now Cassandra was back and she was just behind the door. Just like that, the room she had avoided for five years became one of her favorites in the castle again. 

Rapunzel lifted a hand to knock and quietly tapped her knuckles against the door before walking in. She stopped in the doorway and gently closed the door behind her without taking her eyes off of the woman who was still sleeping peacefully in her bed. A fond smile played on Rapunzel’s lips as Cassandra mumbled quietly in her sleep and she started to wonder how she slept while on the road. Was this her first time sleeping in a bed in over five years? Did she get enough sleep at all? Was there ever anyone else who shared a sleeping space with her on her travels? The princess felt her mood sour and her smile turned to a frown. She didn’t like the idea of Cass, _her_ _Cass_ , running around with other girls while she was away from Corona.

Cassandra rolled over so that she was laying on her stomach and tossed the blankets so that they pooled around her waist with a quiet, sleepy moan as her arms folded under her head. Rapunzel would have cringed at the fact that she didn’t have a pillow, but her attention was trained solely on Cassanda’s back and shoulders which were covered only by a thin olive tank top. Even through the material, the princess could see defined muscle, her breath catching as Cassandra’s arms stretched straight in front of her so that the muscles in her back and shoulders rippled and flexed in just the right way. A small yawn came from the sleeping woman and her eyes fluttered open groggily. 

Rapunzel froze as Cassandra sat up, but let out the breath she had been holding when she smiled at her. 

“Hey Raps… did you need something?” The princess felt her heart pound in her chest but returned the smile.

“Actually, Cass, I needed to talk to you about something important before my meeting today.” Upon hearing Rapunzel’s serious tone, Cassandra let her legs slide off the side of the bed and motioned for her to take the spot next to her. The princess hesitantly sat down, biting her lip nervously.

“Is everything okay?” Cassandra’s words were spoken in a low voice with an intensity that sent chills down Rapunzel’s spine.

“Everything’s great, Cass… I just wanted to talk about you. Did you ever find what you were looking for? Your destiny? A new home? A special someone?” Rapunzel’s brows furrowed as her friend’s concerned expression dropped quickly to one that she couldn’t figure out. She didn’t really look sad, but… empty? Cassandra laughed humorlessly and broke eye contact to look at her right hand playing with the hem of her blankets

“No… not yet. I-”, she took a deep breath and looked back up to Rapunzel, “But I have to eventually… right?” The princess moved a hand to her stomach and fought back a wave of nausea. She wasn’t sure if it was from the baby or from the way Cassandra’s voice cracked. 

“Cass… what exactly are you looking for out there? What have you been doing out there all this time?” The woman in question swallowed the lump in her throat and frowned.

“I’ve done so much since I’ve left, Raps. I couldn’t tell you all of it now, but I’m sure I have a new scar to match every story. My life has been far from uneventful… but every time I stop somewhere, meet a new person, or have some crazy adventure…” Rapunzel leaned forward, anticipating the end of her sentence, but was left on edge when she never made an attempt to speak up again.

“You… what, Cass?” Her gray gaze drifted to the side.

“I get this feeling that I don’t belong there, that I need to keep moving, that something’s not right. I love the journey, but I just can’t see an end and I’m getting scared that I never will. I’m scared that I’ll spend my whole life looking for a purpose that just isn’t there.” She laughed a little, but Rapunzel couldn’t hide her disappointment when it wasn’t quite the laugh she had fallen in love with. “You know what, forget I said any of this. It’s stupid. Let’s talk about you! How far along are you?” Rapunzel wanted to tell her that it wasn’t stupid and that it was good for her to talk about her feelings, but she didn’t want to push her into closing herself off again. 

“Four months tomorrow… You know, we really do appreciate you coming back to support us through this. I- this is a part of my life that I’m really glad I have you for, Cass. I would never want my kid to grow up without you because you’re just so important to me and I would hate for you not to play an important part in his or her life.” Her chest warmed as Cassandra offered her one of those soft looks, the one that made Rapunzel’s heart melt every time. The smile on her face this time was real and all of her doubts and sadness from before seemed to be long gone.

“Raps, you know I’ll always be here for you when you need me.” Rapunzel nodded in understanding, tears shining in her eyes.

“I know, Cass, thank you.” She leaned forward to pull Cassandra into a tight hug, one that the stronger woman returned very gently.

“Anytime for you, Raps. I love you.” Rapunzel buried her nose into Cassandra’s neck at her words and remembered what exactly she had come to her room to do.

“Actually, can we talk about that, Cass?” She pulled away from their embrace, but made sure to catch Cassandra’s hands in her own. The princess looked up to meet the other woman’s eyes and was confused to see them so full of anxiety and something else she couldn’t identify.

“Talk about what?” Rapunzel offered a nervous smile and squeezed her hands softly.

“About you loving me…” She kept her gaze locked on Cassandra to gauge her reaction and was shocked to see that the anxiety from before was even more prevalent.

“Wh- what is there to talk about?” Rapunzel rubbed a thumb against the back of Cassandra’s hand and bit her lip nervously.

“Eugene said he thinks that you love me the way he loves me… Is he right about that?” The reaction was immediate. Her face flushed and she pulled her hands back to herself with wide eyes, her heartbeat visible through her tank top.

“Raps, I- You know- I would never try to- You’re married! You’re happy with Eugene and you two are having a kid! I- I  _ can’t _ love you the same way. I would never try to come between you two.” Rapunzel held her gaze on her best friend as she tried to figure out what that meant. Were Eugene and Owl wrong? Were they right and Cassandra was just scared to admit to it since Rapunzel and Eugene were married? Or did she come back and realize she wasn’t in love with her anymore?

“So you don’t love me as anything more than a friend?” Cassandra stared at her with wide gray eyes, not wanting to straight up lie, but also not wanting to admit to being in love with her. There was no way Eugene would let her stay around if she did.

“I- um… If I, very hypothetically, said I did, would it even matter? You’re married and you’re having a kid. You know what, don’t answer that.” Rapunzel opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, realizing that she was really pushing her into an uncomfortable position. She reached out to take Cassandra’s hand in hers, but frowned when she pulled away.

“Cass…” The sound of the clock bell ringing made Rapunzel’s blood run cold and her head turned quickly to the clock. She was running late to her meeting, but her gaze shot back to Cassandra and the way her shoulders slumped and her hair cast a shadow on her face made her heart break. She couldn’t just leave her here while she was clearly upset, but she also couldn’t abandon her princess duties and this was an important meeting. “Cass, I need to go to a meeting now, but I’ll find you later. I promise.” Rapunzel ran out of the door, only looking back for long enough to see Cassandra’s head fall into her hands in defeat.

* * *

Eugene stretched and groaned dramatically as he stepped out of his office and locked the door with an exhausted sigh. Knowing Rapunzel was going to be busy all day with the dignitaries from Koto, Eugene decided to take a trip to his sister figure’s room to acquire an eating partner. 

Still in his Captain’s uniform, Eugene tapped enthusiastically on her door. He only had to wait a moment before she let him in her room. 

“Oh, hey Eugene. Did you need something?” He stepped past the doorway and looked at her as she closed the door behind him.

“Just someone to eat dinner with. Rapunzel’s still dealing with her princess things and I don’t want to eat alone, that’s a bad look.” Cassandra raised a brow and laughed as she shook her head.

“You know, the goatee’s a bad look and you don’t seem to care that much. Are you sure you don’t just want my company?” He couldn’t help but to smile.

“Yeah okay, CassANdra. Are you coming or not?” With a small smirk, she grabbed a jacket and threw it over the tank top she was wearing.

“Alright, let’s get some food, Fitzherbert.” He followed her out of her room and the two walked towards the kitchen. Luckily, the walk was short since a rather awkward (peaceful to Cassandra) silence fell over the two. It wasn’t until they got their food and sat down at a table that either of them spoke again.

“So, Cass.” She looked up from her food and while she looked mildly bothered by something, he decided she didn’t look irritated or uncomfortable enough for this to feel normal. “I heard from a very reliable source that my wife was in your room pretty early this morning and didn’t leave until an hour or so after she went in. Is this true?” He had to really try to keep his amused smirk in check when she choked on her drink.

“What? I- She was there when I woke up but I only talked to her for like twenty minutes.” He raised a brow and wondered how long Rapunzel spent watching her sleep. He felt relief wash over him that he could finally stop watching them act like they weren’t hopelessly in love with each other.

“Well I also heard you made a move on my girl. So what’s going on with that?” With that comment, Eugene was prepared for a multitude of outcomes; an unimpressed look, an eye roll, a laugh, a blush, helpless stuttering if he got lucky, but he didn’t expect in a million years for her face to lose color completely and for her to scoot her chair away from the table to get up.

“Who the hell told you that? I- I didn’t do anything! I  _ swear _ to you I didn’t touch her… well I hugged her but that’s not making a move on her!” Eugene just stared at her, speechless as she was clearly starting to panic. It started to become very evident that Rapunzel had yet again failed to tell Cassandra that she loved her and it became even more evident that he jumped the gun. 

“Cass, just calm do-” Her hands flew up to the sides of her head and she grasped at her hair.

“Calm down? No! I can’t have rumors like that going around the castle! I would  _ never _ do that to you guys. I- I came here to support you, to help you, not to tear you guys apart!” Eugene cringed and stood up to bring her outside of the kitchen, where people wouldn’t stare. 

“Look, Cass, I know-” He cut himself off when he realized she was holding back tears. “Cass, hey, why are you crying?” Her nose scrunched up and she jerked her shoulder away from Eugene as his hand landed on it.

“I’m not!” She looked down the hall and refused to look at him. “I don’t think I’m hungry anymore. I’ll see you around.” Before he could protest or catch her by the arm, she paced quickly back in the direction of her room. Eugene cursed under his breath and walked back into the kitchen, hoping he didn’t ruin anything between the three of them.

* * *

Rapunzel walked straight to Cassandra’s room the second she got out of her meeting and knocked urgently on the door. She waited a few moments and knocked again when she didn’t get an answer, this time flinging the door open frantically.

“Cass?” She looked around the room and felt her heart stop when she realized almost all of her things were gone. She saw a piece of paper on her bed from the corner of her eye and all but dived to grab and read it. Her eyes scanned the short letter frantically before she let the sadness seep in.

_ Raps, _

_ Moving in with dad. Decided to give you two your space. Let me know if you need help with anything. _

_ Cass _

* * *

Cassandra took a deep breath and knocked on the red door that belonged to a house on the outskirts of the city. She carried a large bag slung over her back and another rested on the ground and against her leg. The door swung open and the man on the other side froze in shock.

“Cassandra…?” She smiled at the sight of her father and had to fight the urge to fling her arms around him and cry.

“Hey dad… do you have room for another?” The shock on his face was replaced with a big smile and he led her into his house.

“I’ll always have room for you, kid. It’s really nice to have you back.” Cassandra smiled as he closed the door behind then and she threw her arms around him.

“It’s nice to be back. I love you, dad.” He slowly returned the embrace and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you too, Cassandra.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just figured out that I can put notes at the beginning and the end! Anyways, I threw in a love confession, just probably not the one that everyone wanted. There's definitely going to be more chapters than I originally planned because I just have the need to make everything more dramatic than necessary. I don't know how long it will be until the next chapter is finished so here's a summary for chapter 3!
> 
> Owl and Eugene are sick of their girls being unhappy so they band together to plan an intervention for Cassandra and Rapunzel.
> 
> PS: If anyone knows how to get all of the paragraphs to indent normally please help me out because I have no idea.


	3. Tired of Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene and Owl are tired of watching Rapunzel and Cassandra pine and mope and are finally ready to do something about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No this isn't an April fools prank, yes this is a real chapter, and yes it took me entirely too long to finish it. I'm too tired to put notes at the end right now, but I'm too excited to upload the chapter to wait until after I get some sleep to post it. That being said, enjoy the chaos! :)

Owl landed on the windowsill that went to the guest bedroom of the ex-captain’s house, where Cassandra had been staying for two months now. The bird narrowed his eyes and turned his head, feathers ruffled in annoyance as he noted the closed window. His friend had done that on purpose and he knew it. Never a quitter, Owl tapped his beak on the glass a few times to wake her up, but her only reaction was to toss a little in her sleep. A cool breeze blew his already puffed up feathers and he made his displeasure known at being locked out of the house. His yellow gaze narrowed further and with no remorse, dragged his razor-sharp talons down the glass pane, creating a loud and unpleasant noise. Owl watched in satisfaction as Cassandra fell out of the bed with a small scream, hands flying up to her ears.   
Cassandra looked up to the window with a sharp glare, but with her messy curls falling into her face, the bird found it hard to take his friend seriously. She stood up with a groan and Owl let his feathers down, hopping excitedly, expecting to be let in. Maybe she had made a mistake after all. She stopped just in front of the window and bent over so her eyes were level with large yellow ones.  
“You thought that was funny, didn’t you?” She held his stare, annoyance flashing in her narrowed eyes. Knowing this wasn’t a question he should answer, Owl innocently preened his feathers and hooted a kind greeting. He knew he had gotten to her when her glare softened and her lips tilted up into a small smile. She spoke more gently as she opened the window for him, offering a hand for him to climb onto.  
“You know dad’s window was open, right?” Cassandra walked back to sit on the bed and let Owl climb onto the footboard. Once he was situated he looked at her expectantly, moving back into her line of sight when she looked away from him with a judgemental hoot.  
“Stop, Owl! I’m not moving back into the Castle. This system has been working just fine. I get to hang out with my dad and help him out until Raps or Eugene send you to come get me when they need help. This way, they don’t even need to come look for me themselves, and I’m not there to ruin anything.” He watched as her brows unfurrowed, gaze drifting to her hands and walked into her lap to nuzzle his head against her hand. The bird quickly stopped pushing, realizing that she needed a friend and not a wingman at the moment. He let himself relax as Cassandra’s fingers gently scratched the feathers between his wings.  
“I’m sorry for snapping at you Owl… it’s just-” She sighed and shook her head, “I want things to be better. I want them to know I still think about them and that they still mean so much to me… I’m just scared that- I feel like I already caused a problem and I don’t want them to hate me.” Owl hooted quietly, an indication that he understood. He looked up at his friend and his feathers ruffled when he saw the downcast look on her face. With a sigh, Cassandra lifted Owl to place him on the windowsill.   
“I’ll leave the window open for you. I think I’m going to get back to sleep.” The slightly agitated bird shook his wings out and took flight, golden eyes set on the castle.

* * *

  
“Sunshine… I think you should talk to her.” Rapunzel frowned and rested a hand on top of her now prominent stomach. She looked to her husband with uncertainty swimming in her green eyes.  
“I- She said she wanted space, Eugene. I was never very good at respecting that in the past and I don’t want me pushing her to be the reason she leaves again.” Eugene, dressed in his captain’s uniform, wanted nothing more than to scream in frustration but knew he had to stay calm for Rapunzel’s sake.  
“Her letter said she was giving us space. I think if you just told her what we talked about, we-” Rapunzel looked away from her husband with a frustrated look on her face.  
“If she wants to give us space she’s clearly not interested in being a part of our relationship. Maybe you’re just wrong. Maybe she doesn’t feel the same. I don’t want to spring that on her if she doesn’t want to be anything more than friends.” Eugene took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.   
“Okay, sunshine. I need to get to the office, but we’ll talk about this later.” He walked over to her bed to kiss her on the cheek before walking towards the door.   
“I don’t really want to talk about that anymore, Eugene.” He stopped for a moment in the doorway at the sound of his wife’s voice and only gave her a nod of acknowledgment as he left the room. 

* * *

  
Eugene massaged his temples as he entered the office, trying to forget about the situation between Cassandra and Rapunzel. As the door closed behind him, he opened his eyes and immediately screamed when he caught sight of Owl perched outside of his window. The Captain didn’t even need to look into the bird’s judgemental eyes to know what he was there for, but despite his desire to give up on the situation, he opened the window.  
“Look, I know why you’re here and I’m just going to say I tried. I tried getting Rapunzel to talk to her, but she’s too scared Cass is going to leave again if she pushes the topic.” His eyes followed Owl as he flew in and perched on the desk lamp. Eugene waited for a snarky response from Cassandra’s companion but was surprised by a mellow response, a quiet hoot. His frustration dissolved as he began to realize the two girls weren’t really being stubborn, they were just scared to lose each other again.  
“I- I know… I hate seeing Rapunzel like this too. I just- I don’t know what else to do!” The room was silent for a moment until Owl shook out his wings and hooted confidently.  
“Meet you at the- You want me to kidnap her? Are you forgetting she could twist me like a pretzel? With her pinky finger?” Owl’s response was quick and his eyes narrowed, head tilting to the side. Eugene huffed in frustration and threw his hands up in exasperation.  
“Of course I care about- Fine! Okay fine! I’ll do it, but you’re dinner if she kills me.” Eugene soon regretted the threat when Owl aggressively lifted his claws, scraping them against the lamp post as he got ready to fly. “Hey! Hey! No, I was joking, Owl. You… you would never be dinner. In fact, why don’t you go check and see if Rapunzel needs anything.” The bird gave him a hard look before flying out of the door that Eugene had conveniently opened for him.

* * *

  
Rapunzel smiled softly and held out an arm for Owl, who was very careful not to scratch her as he landed. His eyes closed blissfully as her fingers scratched at his chest feathers.   
“I don’t think I need anything today Owl, I have the day off so I’ll probably just be here resting. I’ll have Pascal to keep me company.” The bird cocked his head with wide eyes as if asking if she was sure, but she just chuckled and stroked his head fondly.  
“Yes, I’m sure. Now, go make sure Cass doesn’t need anything.” With a small hoot, Owl flew out of the princess’s window and back to Cassandra’s room, deciding not to make his presence known when he saw his friend and her father play fighting in the next room. He let himself relax and drifted off to sleep at the sound of her laughter.

* * *

  
Cassandra laughed as she felt her dad’s arm catch her by the waist, the other reaching for the spice bottle she was holding away from him.  
“Come on, kid, I need that to finish lunch!” He tried to sound authoritative, but she could pick up on the amusement in his voice.  
“No! Dad, it's not going to taste good! You can’t put-” she turned the bottle so she could read it, “-Cumin in pasta.” He tried to reach around her again to grab it, but she held it just out of his reach.  
“You didn’t even know what the spice was until you read it just now! I know how to cook, Cassandra.” She screamed a little and laughed louder as he flipped her upside down, holding her by her leg as he often did when she was a lot younger.  
“Okay I’m not the best chef either, but I do know that this isn’t for noodles.” The ex-captain wanted to argue but preferred for his daughter to keep smiling the way she was. If keeping cumin out of their pasta was the way to do it, he supposed she could keep the seasoning.   
“Okay, fine. Keep the cumin... It’s nice to see you happy, kid.” He gently put her back on her feet and she gave him an inquisitive look.  
“What do you mean?” He looked at her with a soft smile for a moment and grabbed her by the back of the head to place a kiss on her forehead. While she was distracted, he grabbed the spice bottle from her hand, hoping the small action would bring her previous attitude back. As he pulled away from her, he could see that his plan worked.   
“Hey! You said-” He laughed at her reaction and ran back to the pot before she could catch him again, sprinkling the brown powder inside of the steaming pot.  
“Hey, don’t pout, Cass. I think you’ll like it if you try it.” 

* * *

  
The Captain was halfway through his bowl of pasta when he looked up to his daughter, staring at a nearly full bowl.   
“Have you even tasted it?” Cassandra glanced up at her father, back down to the noodles, then back up to her father again.   
“This makes me very grateful we’ve been eating at the castle.” He raised a brow and chuckled at her blunt answer. He supposed it was something she got from him.  
“Okay, fine, maybe you were right about the cumin, but it’s not that bad.” He took another bite, this time without holding his breath, and almost choked it back up. Cassandra was staring at him with a brow raised, obviously not convinced. “I’m sorry, Cass… I can try to make it without-.” Cassandra’s look softened and she offered her dad a grateful smile.  
“It’s okay, dad, we can go to the castle for lunch.” 

* * *

  
It was near midnight when Cassandra slipped out of the house with Owl as her only company. She stopped in front of the fountain and stared at her reflection before looking away and sitting on the edge.  
“Why did you bring me out here, Owl?” She looked down at her companion, too exhausted to be frustrated.  
“Actually, I had him bring you out here.” Her head snapped around and Eugene had to catch her before she fell in the water. Under normal circumstances, he would watch and laugh, but he felt that would be the worst thing to do.  
“Eugene… shouldn’t you be asleep? With Rapunzel?” He ignored her question and took the spot next to her.   
“How have you been? And don’t give me any of that ‘I’m fine’ bullshit because I’m not going to believe you.” Cassandra huffed in annoyance and rolled her eyes.  
“Yeah? Well, what if I am fine?” Eugene shot her an unimpressed look.  
“Well, CassANdra, I know you’re not, so talk to me.” The two engaged in a heated staredown, neither side wanting to let up, but eventually, Cassandra looked away with an exhausted sigh.   
“I just- I don’t feel like I belong here. Nobody is ever rude to my face and they never say anything to me, but I can see the way they look at me. Every time I leave the house, whether it’s to grab something from the market, to hit the training grounds, or even to eat in the castle, there’s always a wary look being sent my way. My dad even tried to cook lunch at home to avoid going to the castle today. He thought he was being slick about it but I knew he wasn’t just cooking for fun.” Eugene frowned a little and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away at first, but settled down and allowed him to wrap an arm around her shoulders.  
“I’m sorry you have to deal with that, I know how shitty that feels. I got my fair share of looks after I settled down here too… Are you sure that’s the only thing bothering you?” Silence filled the air around them and for a moment, Eugene thought she wasn’t going to answer.  
“No… I don’t really care about them. Sure it sucks to get those looks, but even before the whole… moonstone debacle, people were scared of me.” She looked away from Eugene and sighed. “I’ve actually been more bothered by the situation with you and Raps. I-” Eugene’s eyes brightened and he had to fight back a celebratory grin.  
“Are we doing something that’s upsetting you?” She pulled a face and her nose scrunched up in the exact way that Rapunzel was always gushing about so much.  
“Yes...? I mean no!... Kind of? It’s not something you’re doing, it’s something that happened that’s been bothering me for a while.” Eugene knew exactly what it was, but he held his concerned expression, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.  
“What’s been bothering you? I’m sure we can figure something out…” Cassandra cringed and pulled away from the arm that was covering her shoulders, immediately missing the warmth.  
“You don’t need to figure anything out, I just need you guys to know… You’re right, Eugene. I am in love with Rapunzel… I- I have been for a really, really long time and I would do anything for her, but you got to her first and I respect that. I just- I want you to know that I’ve never tried to tear you guys apart and I never want to. I didn’t come here to try to steal Rapunzel from you, I actually did come here to help you guys.” She took a deep breath and finally found the courage to look up at the man she considered a brother, but flinched back at the scowl on his face.  
“Goddammit woman, I really didn’t want to have to do this.” Before Cassandra could even ask what he meant, he had her slung over his shoulder with a strong grip on her legs.  
“What the fuck, Eugene! Put me down!” He struggled to keep his hold on her as she squirmed in his grip.  
“Can you quiet down? It’s past midnight!” Her efforts to escape stopped for a moment before she struggled against him even more and screamed at him even louder. The walk back to the castle, needless to say, was not a fun one for any party involved. When Eugene finally made it to his and Rapunzel’s room, he was beyond delighted to place Cassandra back on the ground. Also according to his and Owl’s plan, the commotion she made was more than enough to wake Rapunzel.   
“Eugene…? Cass?” Upon recognizing her best friend, the princess sat straight up in her bed. She felt confusion cloud her mind as Eugene quickly locked the door and blocked the exit.   
“Sorry, Sunshine, but I can’t watch this any longer and Owl has certainly made it clear that he can’t either. We all need to talk.”


	4. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything finally comes out, but not without some conflict.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Online classes have been kicking my ass, but they're just about done now, so I finally got to updating this. Sorry for the long wait, I kinda pulled an all nighter writing this so I hope this chapter is at least worth it :/

Rapunzel looked towards the clock on her nightstand and narrowed her eyes when she saw the time. The princess slid out of the bed with a little difficulty and Cassandra, despite her confusion, ran to help her up. She nodded a quick thanks to her best friend before shooting a sharp glare towards her husband.

“Eugene, it is past midnight! I know why you brought her here, but I thought I told you I didn’t want to talk about this.” Cassandra tensed and discreetly edged towards the window as she recognized the beginnings of an argument.

“Rapunzel, I know what you said, but this has gone on long enough.” Eugene turned his attention to Cassandra and she froze in place with wide eyes. “Look, If you two want to date, that’s okay. I’m fine with that. I brought you both in here because there has clearly been some miscommunication somewhere along the line. I’ve talked to you both and I know you’re both in love with each other.  _ Owl _ , for God’s sake, knows you two are in love with each other. Please, for my sanity and your happiness, just kiss, talk, confess, hold hands; I don’t care, but I will not allow either of you to mope around for another day!” The off duty captain looked between the two women desperately, Cassandra’s lips were turned up into a soft smile, and Rapunzel had him fixed with a glare. Had he not been so focused on his and owl’s mission and had that glare not been directed at him, he would have laughed at the role reversal between the two.

“Cass, you don’t have to do anything. If you don’t want to be a part of our relationship, you don’t have to be and nobody is going to force you to do anything.” Cassandra’s smile dropped and she flinched a little at the sound of her name being spoken so harshly. Although she knew Rapunzel wasn’t upset with her, what she said crushed the small amount of hope she felt from what Eugene had said.

“O-Oh…” Before she could even force anything else out, Eugene spoke up as he ran a frustrated hand over his face.

“I’m not trying to force her to do anything! I’m just encouraging-” Rapunzel cut him off and yelled with a ferocity Cassandra had personally never heard from her.

“Encouraging? Is that what you call throwing someone over your shoulder and forcing them to make a life-altering decision?” Eugene furrowed his brows and met his wife’s glare. 

“I wouldn’t have had to do that if you had talked to her months ago! You two obviously weren’t going to figure it out by yourselves! Besides, it was Owl’s pla-” Rapunzel shook her head in disbelief.

“Really Eugene? You’re going to blame this on Owl? You’re the one who dragged Cass in here kicking and screaming! Did that not make you think that maybe she doesn’t want to be kidnapped at midnight?” As the argument escalated, Cassandra turned to the balcony in an attempt to escape and cursed under her breath when she saw the windows were closed with Owl sitting on the handles. He hooted and narrowed his eyes as he cocked his head.

“Yes, I’m going somewhere! Out! Now watch out.” Cassandra spoke in a hushed tone as not to catch their attention and reached for the handles. Her oldest companion, however, refused to move and nipped at her fingers.

“Hey, ow! Owl, come on I need to get out of here! I- I can’t stay here with this! They- they’re arguing because of me. If I leave they’ll be fine. I- This was so stupid. I never should’ve come back. I’m just making everything worse… again. I think I had it right the first time when I left in the first place.” When it was clear that Owl didn’t plan on moving, Cassandra slumped against the wall and tried to block out the sound of their argument, subconsciously curling in on herself.

“I’m starting to think I know more about your best friend than you do! If you can’t see how blatantly unhappy she is, then-” Once again Rapunzel cut him off.

“If Cass was unhappy I think she would tell me!” Eugene flung his hands up in the air with his brows still furrowed.

“Yeah, because she’s had a fantastic history of telling people how she feels! I could count on one hand the number of times she’s actually opened up and told you what the hell she was thinking!” Rapunzel’s face scrunched and her cheeks were colored a burning red.

“I think after everything that’s happened, everything that she and I have been through together, she would tell me if something was bothering her so much!” Cassandra felt her eyes burn and immediately buried her face into her knees. She took in a few shaky breaths to try to calm herself down, but as the sound of her best friends’ voices grew in both anger and volume, she lost the battle and felt a tear slip down her cheek. She opened her mouth to curse herself for her weakness, but what was meant to be an insult to herself came out in the form of a choked sob. 

Cassandra clenched her jaw and pulled at her hair until it came loose from the ribbon that held it from her face. She took in a shaky breath as she narrowly avoided crying out again and squeezed her eyes closed until she started to see stars. It wasn’t until she felt a soft hand on her shoulder that she realized the yelling had stopped. Through her hands, she could hear Rapunzel’s muffled voice quietly calling her name. 

Slowly, Cassandra pulled her shaky hands away from her ears and felt her hair slip through her fingers.

“Cass?... Cass, come on, look at me please.” Cassandra opened her eyes and peeked up from behind her knees to see worried green eyes filled with nothing but concern. She shifted her gaze and saw Eugene a little further off with a similar expression.

“I’m sorry…” Her voice was muffled with her lips still resting behind her legs. Rapunzel’s brows furrowed, but this time without the fierce glare.

“Cass… What are you sorry about? There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. Come here.” Cassandra was all too eager to take the invitation as Rapunzel opened her arms and pulled the princess into a tight hug.

“No, I’m sorry, I- You’re fighting because of me, and I wanted to come here to help you, but I’m just making everything worse! I- I’m sorry, Raps, I’ll leave. I’ll leave tomorrow. I- I didn’t mean to-” Cassandra cut herself off as she felt Rapunzel jerk away from her and had to hold back tears as she braced herself for what she was sure would be rejection.

“No! No, that’s not- Cass, none of this is-” The princess huffed and Cassandra felt those soft hands cup her face and tilt her head up so that they were eye to eye. “Cassandra, I never meant for you to feel like that… You aren’t making anything worse and we both really, really appreciate what you’ve been doing for us. If anything I should be apologizing to you.” Cassandra shook her head and opened her mouth to talk, but before she could even get a word out, Rapunzel had pulled her into a passionate kiss. Cassandra’s eyes shot open in shock, but after remembering Eugene’s words from before, she closed her eyes and returned the kiss with equal, if not more passion. One shaky hand wrapped tightly around the princess's waist while the other tangled into her short hair. Rapunzel squealed a little and smiled into their kiss as Cassandra pulled her closer. 

It wasn’t until the two women pulled apart that the applause began. A slow sarcastic clap was the only sound that filled the room. Eugene was met with two unimpressed glares.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that! Now act like I’m not here and confess your undying love for each other so we can try and squeeze in at least four hours of sleep.” Neither glare lightened.

“Eugene!” The man in the room flinched at his wife’s tone and backed towards the door. 

“Right, I’ll give you two a few minutes, but only a few! If I lose too much more sleep over this it’s going to start to leave bags under my eyes, and that is simply unacceptable. Two minutes, ladies. Cassandra opened her mouth to snap back at him but was once again cut off with a soft kiss as Eugene closed the door behind him.

“Ignore him. Let’s talk about us… Cass, I missed you so much while you were gone. Whenever I had any free time all I could do was think about you, wonder where you were, what you were doing, if you were safe or not… I was so scared I would never see you again and it didn’t take long after you left for me to figure out that I was in love with you. I- Eugene and I, of course, had a conversation and we came to the conclusion that when you came back, I would confess my feelings and invite you to be a part of our relationship.” Rapunzel held eye contact and Cassandra didn’t dare interrupt her narrative. The princess only continued, however, when Cassandra offered her a hopeful smile.

“I was going to tell you the first night you were back, but I was scared that you wouldn’t feel the same way, that you would freak out at the thought of being a part of a three-person relationship, that you would freak out at the thought of being a mom… I just- I didn’t want you to leave again! I didn’t want to lose you, but I almost did by keeping it to myself. I guess I haven’t really asked your thoughts on the matter.” Cassandra took Rapunzel’s hands in hers and laughed softly.

“I- Raps I’ve been in love with you since before our journey to the dark kingdom. I never thought I- Are you my girlfriend now? I- I never thought you would ever be my girlfriend.” All of the tension Rapunzel had felt before melted as Cassandra stumbled over her words and she couldn’t help but to smile at how genuinely happy she looked. The princess looked to her girlfriend fondly as she cut off her sentence to laugh. She had always loved Cassandra’s laugh. Just as she was about to melt completely, however, she was jolted from her daze when she felt a strong kick against her stomach and many softer ones following it. Apparently, her child had also taken a shine to her laughter.

“Raps! Are you okay? What’s wrong?” She looked back up to Cassandra and gave her a quick kiss. 

“I’m okay Cass, it just seems the baby woke up. Do you… Do you want to feel?” Cassandra hesitated for a moment, but smiled lovingly and looked into her eyes.

“I would love to.” Taking the hand that she was already holding, Rapunzel moved it to rest on her stomach and felt her child kick against Cassandra’s hand. She heard her girlfriend let out an elated laugh and found herself joining. 

“I think the baby already likes you, Cass!” Rapunzel turned a smile to her and her heart swelled at the look of wonder on Cassandra’s face. The sparkle in her eyes made her look years younger.

“You think so?” The baby kicked at her hand again and her smile only widened.

“I really do… I want to make sure we’re on the same page before Eugene comes back in here, though. You’re okay with the whole dating situation?” Cassandra opened her mouth to answer immediately but stopped for a moment once their eyes met again.

“Wait… I don’t have to date Eugene though, right? Because I’m not really into men, like, at all…” The princess lost her composure a little and laughed before kissing her warrior on the cheek. 

“No, you don’t have to be romantically involved with Eugene, but I do expect the two of you to get along. I just don’t want any fighting over this arrangement.” Cassandra brought Rapunzel’s hand to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

“I think I can work with that… I love you, Raps.” She brought their hands to rest between them so that nothing would obstruct her vision of the woman she was in love with. The princess teared up a little and squeezed Cassandra’s hands.

“I love you too, Cass.” Rapunzel pulled her in for another quick kiss before turning back to the door. “We should probably let Euge-” Before she could even finish the thought, Eugene pushed the doors open with a yawn. 

“Okay, time’s up, time to go to bed. Come on Sunshine, come on Cass. While you two were chit chatting I brainstormed the perfect way for us to sleep with a few not so gentle suggestions from Owl.” The aforementioned bird swooped into the room and perched on the back of a chair with a supportive hoot. “Sunshine, you get the middle, CassANdra, you get the left side, and  _ I _ get the right side. Now hurry up because I’m tired and need to wake up early tomorrow.” Before either of the two could protest, Eugene had already put on his sleeping mask and flopped on the side of the bed he designated for himself.

With a chuckle, Rapunzel crawled into the middle and looked up to her girlfriend expectantly. Eugene’s left arm draped over Rapunzel’s waist and he reached a little further to search the space next to her. 

“CassANdra! Where are you?” The woman in question sighed and looked to the window.

“If my dad wakes up and I’m not home, he’s going to freak out…” Rapunzel pulled an unimpressed face and grabbed Cassandra’s hand to pull her into the bed next to her. 

“I’m sure Owl would be more than willing to forward a message to your dad. Now hold me and go to sleep.” As demanded, Cassandra moved closer to the princess and wrapped her arms around Rapunzel’s back. The smaller woman buried her face in Cassandra’s neck and returned the embrace.

“Goodnight Cass, Goodnight Eugene.”

“Goodnight Rapunzel, Goodnight Cass.” Rapunzel heard a soft chuckle in her ear. 

“Goodnight Raps, Goodnight  _ Genie _ .” Rapunzel groaned in anticipation of what was to come.

“Hey! That’s not allowed! Sunshine, tell her that’s no-” Rapunzel was quick to cut him off. 

“No, we are not stating this! Both of you, go to sleep. Cass, behave.” She sighed in contentment as silence fell over the room and fell asleep almost instantly between the two people she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left and unless I get carried away, it will be a lot shorter than the others! Hopefully I can finish this fic relatively soon, sorry for leaving everyone hanging on the last chapter for so long again!


	5. A Prince is Born

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new Prince of Corona is welcomed by three loving parents even if two of them show their love in a very unique way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I want to thank PizzaHorse from the Cassunzel server for helping me figure out a name for the kid what seems like ages ago and I hope you all enjoy the last chapter :)

Eugene’s eyes started to flutter open and he could vaguely hear the echo of a child crying in the background. He tried to remember what was going on as he drifted back into consciousness but was forced back into reality by a sharp slap to the side of his face. Eugene’s eyes shot open and the first thing he saw was Cassandra’s irritated face.

“Cass! He was waking up, you didn’t need to slap him!” She turned her head to face Rapunzel with a frown as she nursed her hand.

“Come on, Raps, he totally deserved it. Obviously, you just went through a lot of pain and since Eugene passed out at the first sight of your blood I have at least three broken fingers! I think he can take a hit.” Eugene sat up with a cringe as he remembered exactly what had happened and to his immense dismay, Cassandra had done a stellar job with the recap.

“Sorry, sunshine. I- I don’t know what happened, I really thought I would be able to handle it considering everything we’ve seen.” He took a deep breath and looked between the two girls, frowning at the sight of Cassandra’s hand and Rapunzel’s clearly exhausted expression.

“It’s okay, Eugene. You can’t help it, I understand.” Eugene looked back to his knees with a small frown but looked up again when a hand entered his line of sight.

“You might want to get up unless you want to take another nap while we pick a name for your son.” He raised an unamused brow towards his sister figure, but accepted her help and was pulled to his feet. He walked over to Rapunzel on shaky legs and took her hand in his.

“We have a boy?” The princess offered a small smile and a nod. Eugene leaned down to lovingly kiss her forehead, tearing up a little.

“Do you have any ideas for what we’re going to name him yet?” Rapunzel gazed over to Cassandra and laughed a little.

“We were going to wait for you to wake up before we started discussing names.” Cassandra took that as her cue to join the two and sat at the bottom of Rapunzel’s bed, resting a hand on her princess’s leg.

“I was thinking Boy.” She gave Rapunzel’s leg a gentle squeeze and looked up to her two companions for their opinions.

“Cass, no. I’m not naming the kid ‘Boy’.” Rapunzel fixed her with a flat gaze and Eugene laughed.

“You know, I really should have seen this coming considering you named your owl ‘Owl’.” Cassandra furrowed her brows and glared at Eugene.

“What’s wrong with Owl’s name?” Eugene’s laughter only grew and Rapunzel huffed in resignation, too exhausted to mediate their bickering.

“It’s unoriginal! Our kid needs a cool name, one that makes him stand out from the crowd. A name like… Flynn!” The suggestion did not seem to hold in the slightest.

“Oh, yes! Flynn, the oh so original name of the storybook character that you based your entire identity off of for the majority of your life so far. I was thinking something a little more out there. Something like… Horace.” Eugene’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“Who told you that? I made it very clear that you specifically were never supposed to find that out.” Cassandra raised a brow and chuckled.

“Yeah telling your dad not to tell me specifically was your first mistake. I believe his exact words were, ‘This is the girl who I’m not supposed to tell that my son’s real name is Horace’.” Eugene grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms.

“We aren’t naming him Horace. I think we should name him-”

“Wylie. His name is Wylie. I’m not taking any more suggestions.” Both Cassandra and Eugene opened their mouths to speak, but at Rapunzel’s fierce gaze, wisely thought against it.

“I like Wylie.” Cassandra was the first to speak up, and Eugene was quick to follow.

“Yeah, Wylie is great. When do we get to see him?” Almost as if on cue, the midwife walked back into the room with the small, wailing bundle.

“Okay, Princess. Here’s your little boy. Have you thought of a name for him?” The rather stocky woman handed off the baby and all three smiled as he settled once back in his mother’s arms.

“Wylie.” The midwife nodded and smiled at the family.

“Okay, I’ll be back with a birth certificate, and congratulations on a healthy baby boy.” As soon as she left, all tension between the three were gone and replaced with nothing but love for the tiny child in Rapunzel’s arms.

“He’s so little…” Eugene extended a finger towards the child and had to hold back tears as Wylie’s much smaller fingers wrapped tightly around his. He laughed in delight and Cassandra watched from the end of the bed. Her eyes were fixed intently on the child and she internally vowed she would do anything to protect him. She was only snapped from her trance when Wylie started crying again. Her eyes shifted to her girlfriend and brother figure and a laugh bubbled out of her lips once she saw Eugene panicking. The man in the room sent her a glare.

“Do you have any sugg-” Cassandra’s laughter only grew at his frustration, but what truly stopped him was Wylie’s squeals of delight. His chubby arms reached out towards her and Rapunzel’s heart swelled.

“Cass, I think he wants you to hold him too.” Her laughter died down and she looked at her girlfriend incredulously.

“Wh- what? Raps I don’t kn-” Eugene let out a small laugh himself and took the baby from Rapunzel, offering him to Cassandra.

“Cass, shut up, and hold him.” Her lips tilted upwards and she carefully pulled the child into her arms. Cassandra’s heart rate picked up as Wylie nestled himself against her chest and fell asleep. She immediately looked to Rapunzel and Eugene in uncertainty.

“What do I do?” She whispered, not wanting to wake their child and Rapunzel giggled happily at the sight of her child sleeping so peacefully against her girlfriend.

“Just hold him, he’s sleeping.” Cassandra tried to calm herself down and looked down at the child, seeing him up close for the first time. She couldn’t help the smile that played on her lips before looking back to Eugene.

“You know, he really is cute… I think he might even be able to grow into the big ass ears Eugene gave him.” She looked back down at Wylie as she waited for what she said to process. First was a giggle from her princess and a few moments later she got exactly what she had aimed for.

“CassANdra…” She laughed quietly as not to wake up their son and had to hold back tears of her own as Wylie reached up to grasp onto her shirt, snuggling further against her.

“Don’t tell me… Are those tears I see?” Cassandra bit her tongue and blinked away any wetness in her eyes before looking up to Eugene’s teasing smirk.

“You wish, Fitzherbert.” The three fell into a comfortable silence and it wasn’t long before the midwife returned with an official piece of paper that she handed to Eugene.

“Here you are, and welcome to the world, Prince Wylie of Corona.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is! This is the end of the pilot story of the series, but if you liked this fic stay tuned for more related stories in the future (However long that may be)! As always, I hope you all enjoyed the story and thanks for reading!!


End file.
